Book- weird things people say in bookshops

An entertaining read.

There's this part on this woman who goes the bookshop and asked for any book that's in the shade of green that will go well with her wrapping paper. It sounded very ridiculous to me, so much that it's funny. xD 

Not that I don't judge a book by it's cover, it's just that usually I will place more emphasis on the book's synopsis and would only read it if it interests me. That being said, if there's different editions of the book, I'll still choose the cove that I like more so I'm still a visual person I guess. 

And of course there'll be some ramblings on rude/inconsiderate/weird customers together with the funny ones. Customer service's really a tough industry. I can just imagine the patience needed to deal with some of the people. Oh the horror! xD 

That aside, it's still pretty cool to work in bookshops, surrounded by books. Except that reading the books there are not part of the job requirement. xD 

Movie- Armageddon (1998)

This movie's been in a few of those Guess the Movie app games that I've been playing. It piped my curiosity and so I went to watch it.

The movie's about a Texas-sized asteroid that's bound to hit Earth and how the NASA came up with a plan to stop this end of the world event from happening. I guess I have always been fascinated with stuffs that are of apocalyptic themes- movies like these, sci-fi genres, hunger game kinds of post apo world, zombie apocalypse. Yeah so this did sound interesting enough for me to want to watch it.

And so, NASA sent up a team of drillers mix with astronauts to drill a hole on the asteroid, put a nuclear bomb in it and blast it up so that the fragments of the asteroid can miss Earth.

The moive has a few mentions of the Bible and how amageddon meant the end of the world in the Bible. I didn't know that. But now I know. xD And of course, the mission came with a few sacrifices and some of the team died in the mission.

I think this movie made me really respect heros. Not like those fiction superheros like Iron Man or Spider man or Wolverine but more kind of like the ordinary hero. There's a scene when Harry had to stay behind on the asteroid to hand detonate the bomb. It's a suicidal mission, everyone knew it but he chose to do it in place of AJ, a guy that was his daughter's fiance. I can't imagine how huge this responsibility must be, and how much courage it took to press that little button to blow yourself up together with everything else around you.

I guess that's why there's this book on courage called Feel the Fear and Do it anyway. When it boils down to fight or flight, sometimes there's just no option of flight anymore.

Book-Disappointments with God by Philip Yancey

Just finished this book. It's really wonderfully written. I have always have issues with my faith. Although I'm a relatively new Christian, I still do have times when I have my seeds of doubts. I don't have that kind of 100% confidence and faith in God that I see in some believers. Sometimes that made me wonder if I'm really a believer, if it's really okay to be like this. It made me feel like maybe it's wrong what I'm feeling and perhaps I should find ways to have more faith, to believe more and do whatever it takes.

And so I did, I do what I always do when I have questions. I turn to books. And I'm so glad I found this book. I have to applaud Yancey for writing this book. It isn't easy I think, the emotional toll that one has to go through to think and pen down such ideas and theories. He cleverly summaries our disappointments with god as three types: whether god's unfair, why he's silent and why he's hidden.

We people think life would be so much easier if God would just show up and tell us what to do; guide us, create more miracles that are attention drawing, in fact anything loud so that we KNOW for sure he's there.
But after reading the analysis done by Yancey from the books of the Old Testament, I now could see how that maybe wouldn't work out.

God wants us to love Him; not fear him or act like we love him/obey him out of submission and resignation. That's why we had the option to love Him or not. I think it's kind of like how we humans are like too, how we want to be loved but we want genuine love.

And yes, Yancey's very relateable in his writing. I feel like I just came out of this reading with a much renewed faith. A kind of faith that can survive doubts, disappointments and injustice and yet still hang on to God. As long as we cling on to him, I guess that in itself is a very wonderful act of faith.

Just like how God has never forsaken us, the lest we could do is do the same when we're tested with the trials of life.

I'm still a work in progress and I've realised I've got so much to learn. Lessons on patience, humility, and love. And I thank God for showing me all these. It made me accept my flaws (kind of although sometimes I really wish I was just simply perfect xD who doesn't?) and yes, learning and the growth process is really painful. But I guess this is part of life, part of growth, part of what it means to be human.

Thank you Yancey for the good book and sharings. And thank you God for leading me to the bookstore and chancing upon this book. I'm feeling so blessed now.